Ajax, Swallows share spoils

Published Feb 14, 2013

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Cape Town – Ajax Cape Town and Moroka Swallows settled for a 1-1 draw in an entertaining Premiership encounter at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday night.

There was little in the way of first-half chances for either side as both sets of attackers failed to hold onto the ball in and around the opposition box.

The game was lively, however, with the first chance falling to Swallows' Bennett Chenene, whose effort flew across the face of goal.

Solid opportunities then followed for the Urban Warriors as Mabuthi Khenyeza had his powerful drive tipped over by Greg Etafia, while Abia Nale was unfortunate to see his run and snap shot end with the ball rebounding off the post.

Ajax keeper Sean Roberts was called into action seven minutes ahead of the break, doing superbly to beat away Rudi Isaacs' thunderous volley.

The Cape side eventually moved in front just before half-time as Musa Lebusa snuck in to tuck away Khama Billiat's inviting cross from the left.

The game continued at a fast pace after the break, with chances arriving at both ends within a minute of each other, as Chenene just failed to get on the end of Lefa Tsutsulupa's clever pass, while Cecil Lolo misfired at the back-post for the home team.

Billiat was a constant threat on the night and was close to scoring on the hour mark when he blazed a left-footed shot just wide of goal from some distance out.

Ajax should have taken their chances while they had them. Instead, they had to watch as Tsutsulupa put Siyabonga Nomvethe in on goal with 20 minutes to go, and the former Bafana international did the rest with a perfect strike from an angle out on the right.

The final minutes of the game were frenetic as both teams pushed hard for the winner.

The Birds managed to come close on a few occasions late on, with the best chance falling to Dikgang Mabalane, who skewed his attempt wide from close range. – Sapa

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